TopicsPolitician AnalysisKhairul Firdaus Akbar Khan

Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan

Party
GRS · Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (direct)
Coalition
GRS
Constituency
Batu Sapi
State
Sabah
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Why this matters to you

As Deputy Minister of Human Resources since December 2025, Khairul Firdaus directly shapes policies affecting wages and job security for Malaysian workers — including the ongoing review of the RM1,700 monthly minimum wage and amendments to the Employment Insurance System that affect income replacement and re-employment benefits for workers who lose their jobs (Source: bernama.com, freemalaysiatoday.com). For constituents in Batu Sapi, his push to rezone coastal industrial land for tourism use has direct implications for residents affected by factory pollution and for small businesses that could benefit from a tourism-oriented local economy (Source: sinardaily.my). As an MP in the government bloc, his vote supports the Unity Government's legislative majority in the Dewan Rakyat on bills covering labour, the economy, and federal-state matters relevant to Sabah.

Summary

Datuk Khairul Firdaus bin Akbar Khan (born 26 July 1983) is the GRS Member of Parliament for Batu Sapi (P185), Sabah, elected in GE15 in November 2022, and currently serves as Deputy Minister of Human Resources following a Cabinet reshuffle in December 2025 [1][2]. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture from December 2022 to December 2025, where he was the government's spokesperson on Malaysia's tourism recovery and the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 campaign [3]. He is a GRS direct member whose post-GE15 political standing was confirmed by the High Court in November 2023 after Bersatu challenged the validity of his seat [4].

Biography

Datuk Khairul Firdaus bin Akbar Khan (born 26 July 1983) is the Member of Parliament for Batu Sapi (P185), Sabah, having won the seat in the 15th General Election on 19 November 2022 under the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) banner as a Sabah Bersatu candidate [2]. He is a direct member of the GRS coalition [2]. He is the son of Sabah political veteran Datuk Akbar Khan Abdulrahman [5]. He graduated from Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Electronics Commerce Management and Human Resource Management [2]. Prior to contesting GE15, he served as Information Chief of Bersatu Sabah [6]. He won the Batu Sapi seat with 12,152 votes, representing 27.7% of votes cast and a majority of 4,821 over the second-placed candidate [7]. Following GE15, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Unity Government in December 2022 [2]. After GE15, he and three other GRS MPs elected on the Bersatu ticket declared their support for GRS rather than Bersatu; the Dewan Rakyat Speaker ruled they had been GRS direct members before the election and the High Court later upheld that ruling [4]. In December 2025, following a Cabinet reshuffle, he was moved to the position of Deputy Minister of Human Resources [1][3].

Known for

Khairul Firdaus is known primarily as a GRS direct-member MP from Sabah who navigated a high-profile post-GE15 party-affiliation dispute involving the anti-hopping law [4]. He served as Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture from December 2022 to December 2025, during which period he was the government's public voice on Malaysia's tourism recovery targets and the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 campaign [3]. In June 2024, a parliamentary speech in which he proposed positioning Langkawi as a preferred destination for Muslim tourists drew public debate and prompted a public apology from his then-minister [2].

Political positions

On tourism, Khairul Firdaus consistently advocated for expanding international arrivals and domestic tourism spending, citing Malaysia's target of 35.6 million tourist arrivals and RM147.1 billion in income by 2026 [4]. He emphasised Muslim-friendly tourism as a draw for international visitors, particularly from China and ASEAN, while stressing inclusivity as the broader framework [3]. On constituency development, he called on the Sabah government to reclassify parts of Batu Sapi from industrial zones to tourism and coastal-use land, citing pollution concerns from factories near the coast [6]. Since assuming the Human Resources portfolio in December 2025, he has overseen the review of the Minimum Wage Order 2024, with completion expected in September 2026, and tabled the Employment Insurance System (Amendment) Bill, which introduced a progressive penalty structure for employers and expanded PERKESO's employment services role [3][8].

References

  1. [1]malaymail.com
  2. [2]en.wikipedia.org
  3. [3]bernama.com
  4. [4]theedgemalaysia.com
  5. [5]utusan.com.my
  6. [6]sinardaily.my
  7. [7]election.thestar.com.my
  8. [8]freemalaysiatoday.com

Education

  1. Pre-2022Graduated from Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Electronics Commerce Management and Human Resource Management.⛓

Before politics

  1. Pre-2022Served as Information Chief of Bersatu Sabah, acting as party spokesman on GRS coalition affairs and state political matters.⛓

Political career

  1. 19 November 2022Elected Member of Parliament for Batu Sapi (P185) in GE15 under the GRS (Sabah Bersatu) ticket, winning with 12,152 votes (27.7%) and a majority of 4,821.⛓
  2. December 2022Appointed Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Unity Government.⛓
  3. January 2023Confirmed as a GRS direct member alongside three other Sabah MPs who had transitioned from Bersatu; all four stated they would not join Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah and would remain GRS direct members.⛓
  4. November 2023High Court dismissed Bersatu's judicial review challenging Dewan Rakyat Speaker's decision not to declare the Batu Sapi seat vacant, ruling the matter non-justiciable. The case was finalised.⛓
  5. 24 June 2024Made a parliamentary speech proposing that Langkawi be positioned as a preferred tourism destination for Muslims; the statement drew criticism and prompted a public apology from then-Minister Tiong King Sing on 29 June 2024.⛓
  6. 17 December 2025Moved to Deputy Minister of Human Resources following a Cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, replacing his previous Tourism, Arts and Culture portfolio.⛓
  7. April 2026Announced that the review of the Minimum Wage Order 2024 (currently set at RM1,700 per month) is expected to be completed by September 2026, following stakeholder engagement sessions.⛓

Election history

  • 2022P185 Batu SapiWon27.7%⛓

Stance evolution

Public statements grouped chronologically. The party tag shows which party the politician was contesting under at that point.

  1. 2026GRS
    • The government has held multiple engagement sessions to ensure that every decision, plan and implementation meets the needs of all stakeholders.

      Said to reporters after an engagement session in Putrajaya regarding the review of the Minimum Wage Order 2024. · Source

  2. 2025GRS
    • Langkawi's tourism recovery is heading in the right direction, but it hasn't reached its full potential.

      Said when winding up the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture's Budget 2026 committee-stage debate in the Dewan Rakyat. · Source

  3. Undated
    • Prosecution will only be a last resort.

      Said when winding up the debate on the Employment Insurance System (Amendment) Bill in the Dewan Rakyat, referring to employers who fail to report job vacancies to Perkeso. · Source

Perspectives on key issues

  • GovernmentBernama reported that the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) welcomed Khairul Firdaus's appointment as Deputy Human Resources Minister in December 2025, stating it looked forward to collaboration on labour market priorities including skills development and productivity-linked wages.⛓
  • OppositionBersatu challenged the validity of Khairul Firdaus's seat via judicial review after GE15, arguing that his switch of support from Bersatu to GRS breached the anti-party hopping law; the High Court dismissed the challenge in November 2023, ruling the Speaker's decision was non-justiciable.⛓
  • VerifiedFactsThe High Court ruled in November 2023 that Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul's decision not to declare the Batu Sapi seat vacant was non-justiciable, confirming Khairul Firdaus's continued tenure as MP. This is a finalised judicial outcome confirmed by The Edge Malaysia and Bernama.⛓
  • PublicAccording to The Edge Malaysia and Bernama, then-Minister Tiong King Sing publicly apologised for Khairul Firdaus's June 2024 parliamentary proposal on Muslim-only tourism in Langkawi, noting that inclusivity must underpin tourism strategy; the proposal had drawn criticism from the non-Muslim community.⛓

Sources

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